Tulsa Heat
by Greaserthings
Summary: *Sequel to Tulsa Rain* With the gang growing and settling down Darry doesn't have to worry about looking after them anymore. But when his nightmares of the past begin to disturb others around him, he's forced to move past the obstacle keeping him where he is; only to face another once he revisit with people from his past. With the help of his family & the gang will he overcome it?
1. Memories

**So, this is the sequel to Tulsa Rain! I hope everyone enjoyed Tulsa Rain and hopefully they will ike the sequel! I have a few ideas forming for the story but we'll see where this takes us! Make sure to check out my profile for some links to pictures!**

* * *

"Darry come on, we gotta get moving." Violet called from down the hall where she was getting Darrel dressed.

"Dada gets up!" Darry heard a small voice say, and he felt a tiny pair of hands on his arm, trying to move it from his face. He moved his arm to see his now three year old daughter Hailey sitting in front of him, her long blonde hair left down with a small head band on. Hailey smiled brightly at him and her eyes glowed and Darry grinned and pulled her into his arms and started to tickle her. Her giggles and squeals always made his day better, that and his beautiful wife's smile.

"Darrel Shayne Curtis, get out of that bed right now." Violet said and Darry got up, complying with his wife. He walked into the bathroom and went to shut the door when he heard a pair of feet padding along behind him. Sometimes he wished his daughter wasn't so clingy, but at the end of the day he really didn't mind.

"Hail, baby girl why don't you go wake up Uncle Pony and Auntie Lex?" He asked, bending down so he was at her level. Sometimes she was painfully shy and her parent's tried their best to get her away from being shy but it wasn't working.

"Okay…" She said softly and walked out of the room. Darry walked across the hall and started the shower, closing the door.

* * *

The door opened a few minutes later and he heard the toilet seat being picked up and he knew it was his little brother. Since his little brother and girlfriend were attending Oklahoma State and it was only a few minutes away from their house Lexi officially moved in with them. Once he heard the seat being placed back down and the door open and close Darry turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around his waist, walking back into his room and grabbed the clothes he had laid on his bed before his shower, a nice button up shirt and a pair of jeans.

The family was headed to their old neighborhood, for Dallas son's first birthday party. Unfortunately as his fiancée-Shay- got pregnant before she finished her university course she had to drop out to help raise their son. Darry had luckily found Dallas work at the company Darry now co-owned. Shay did work at the Cookie Jar with Violet until she went on maternity leave and after a long discussion with Dallas she decided to be a stay at home mom with their son.

Darry walked downstairs to where his wife of a year and a half was feeding their children. Violet looked up and smiled at him, yet felt a little upset that her husband was ashamed of the scars he obtained while saving his daughter. It was going to be well over eighty degrees and he was in a long sleeve blouse.

"Darry won't you be too hot in that?" She asked and Darry shrugged, going to get a cup of coffee. She just sighed and continued to feed their ever hungry son. Hailey worked on eating her cereal and Pony walked down the stairs in an Oklahoma State tee-shirt and a pair of track pants, followed by Lexi who was in a pair of jean shorts and one of Pony's tee-shirts from track. Everyone ate in silence mostly before they headed out to a house on the east side of Tulsa.

Pony and Lexi would take Darry's truck, and Darry took their new (to the family) 1959 Impala Hardtop. Once arriving at the small house that his friend now calls "home", music was playing loudly from the backyard and once they opened the gate and walked back, they saw some of the gang sitting around the fire pit that had a small fire going, even though it was only noon. There was a pile of presents and Darry recognized Shay's family around the backyard.

Shay was sitting in a lawn chair, their son Daniel in her lap, looking around at everyone with excited eyes. Dallas was over at the barbeque, and turned to the new comers to his son's birthday party.

"Hey guys! Presents go over by the cake and if you can find a seat, sit down. Burgers and hot dogs are cooking now." He said, and the family nodded.

Violet found a seat next to Evie, who was holding their six-month old daughter, Elizabeth. Evie was now out of her wheelchair, but she was using a cane to walk.

"Hello Evie," Violet said, smiling at the sleeping baby in her mother's arms. Evie smiled at Violet, noticing Darry talking to Two-bit.

"Hey Vi, how's everything going?" She asked and Violet smiled,

"They're… Going alright I suppose. Darry doesn't want to go to therapy anymore but I know that he doesn't talk to the therapist. He still… He still has nightmares about it." Evie nodded understandingly and looked up when Johnny came in, carrying his son in one arm and the other wrapped around his girlfriend and Violet's best friend, Tabitha.

Tabitha grinned and waved at Violet, as she was a bubbly and loud person. Since she was Mexican and Johnny spoke fluent Spanish, the two got along well. Tabitha helped to bring Johnny out of his shell and the gang was surprised to see he was almost as sarcastic and goofy as Two-bit.

"Violet! Hey!" Tabitha exclaimed, walking over and picking Hailey up from the chair, sitting her down on her lap. Violet grinned and hugged her friend from the side and when she pulled away she noticed a little sparkle coming from Tabitha's left hand.

"So…?" Violet asked grinning and Tabitha nodded, a huge grin eating at her features.

"Yes!" She exclaimed happily, taking the ring off so Violet could have a better look. "He asked me last night after Beckett went to bed and when we were sitting in front of the fire!" She said and Violet hugged her again. She could tell the ring meant a lot to Tabitha, and gave it back to her.

"It's gorgeous!" She said, before lowering her voice so no one would hear, "And the celebration?" She asked and she saw a blush cross her friends features,

"Legendary." Tabitha said giggling.

* * *

Once dinner was served and everyone had eaten, Shay began to walk around and thank people for coming. Their son Daniel had big grey eyes and blonde hair that he had gotten from his father.

For his first birthday Daniel got mostly clothes, some bibs and some toys from Shay's family.

Darry looked around and took in his surroundings; everyone from the gang safe and in love. Some with children and some trying for children. He smiled and took a sip of his Coca-Cola, thankful that everyone was safe and sound. His only wish now was that his demons would settle.


	2. Hope

**So for this chapter I gave you guys some background on the characters not previously mentioned in the first chapter. Sodapop and Leti will be making their appearance in the next few chapters, don't you guys worry. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see in the upcoming chapters!**

* * *

Steve woke up when his daughter started crying from the room next door to the one he shared with his wife. He got up and went over to his daughter's room as she continued to cry, and he picked her up, sitting in the rocking chair, rocking her back and forth. Since he was in Vietnam when his daughter Elizabeth was born he had felt nothing but guilty. At the moment he was only home for a week or two before he had to go back. Unfortunately Sodapop was still there and he left his long-time girlfriend Leti behind.

"Shh sweetheart… Shh…" He said softly, rocking her back and forth. He loved that his daughter has his fiancée's hazel's eyes, and her nose. However his daughter-Elizabeth- had his black hair and his ears. He kissed her head softly as she started to calm down, and Steve realized that it was probably time for him to feed her, so he made his way to the kitchen to prepare her bottle. Steve sat in the chair in their living room and began to feed her. She was a relatively small baby and most of the time Evie's mom was around during the day to help her out with errands and shopping. He fed her slowly and kissed her head, wanting nothing more than to stay at home and not have to return to the hell that Vietnam was.

"There you go sweetheart," He said softly, picking her up to burp her. He heard a soft noise and turned to see Evie coming towards him the cane.

"How come you're up?" She asked softly, and I shrugged, moving over so she had room to have a seat on the arm of the chair.

"Well Elizabeth was hungry and I didn't want to wake you… You're always having to take care of her all the time and it isn't fair." He said softly and she leaned down to kiss him.

"Don't worry, okay? I just want you resting so you will come home to me in one piece." She replied, placing a soft kiss on his lips. Steve nodded and carried his daughter back to bed before carrying his fiancée to their room.

* * *

Two-bit headed towards his car first thing in the morning. Since living alone he's had to realize the amount of responsibility that follows along with owning a house. Working two jobs kept him busy, as he worked as a busboy in a diner and a stand-up comedian on different nights. His career of becoming a comedian was well on tract and he often did parties, such as work parties for different companies or bachelor parties.

A work party for a school was where he met his current girlfriend, Megan. She worked with the special needs children and the children that weren't as quick at learning as the others. He used her as a volunteer for a few acts and their relationship took off. They've been dating for around six months and she's helped Two-bit to become a more responsible man.

He owned a small house a few houses down from Dally's house and across the street from Steve. However most of the time he was alone, since Megan had her own property she had to maintain.

"Morning Bill," He called out as he went in to begin the day's duties. Even though his day job didn't pay much he loved it. He worked for a few hours before it was time to have a break. He sat down to eat his lunch when he saw Violet come in pushing Jay in his wheelchair. Hailey walked along next to Violet and DJ looked to be sitting comfortably in his Uncle Jay's lap.

"Hey guys!" Two-bit said; waving them over to the booth he was in. Hailey grinned and ran over to see him.

"Uncle Two-bit!" She exclaimed and he picked her up, sitting her in his lap. Violet parked her brother's wheelchair on the side of the booth. Two-bit reached to shake Jay's hand,

"Hey man, how's it going?" Two-bit asked and Jay nodded,

"Good." He said shortly. Unfortunately as a result of everything that had happened with Kessler, Jay had become a paraplegic and he suffered long term memory loss; and his family still had to work with reminding him who they were in relation to him. Jay was also battling depression and he had become a man of few words recently.

Violet smiled at Two-bit and ordered some breakfast for the rest of the newcomers.

"How's Darry doing?" Two-bit asked once Violet had finished ordering. She sighed and shrugged, checking to make sure her children were occupied before speaking with Two-bit.

"He's… He's getting better. I think he's still having nightmares and still… Embarrassed about the scars but… I suppose he's becoming more open with me about what really happened."

Darry had always kept what happened a secret from the gang and his family for fear of them looking at him differently, but time helped to heal those worries and soon Darry opened up to Ponyboy and Violet.

"It's going to take some time to heal those wounds Violet," Two-bit said softly, letting Hailey have some of his bacon. They were quiet for a few moments, until Violet knew a topic Two-bit would be eager to talk about.

"How are things with Megan going?" Violet asked, and she smiled when he saw the grin that came across his face.

"Pretty good, we're still at that… Awkward phase as Pony calls it…Where we can't decide things with one another but I think we're trying to work through it."

"Do you know how many children she wants? Does she know you want a family rather quickly?" Violet asked and Two-bit looked down.

"No… And she doesn't know about Mickey either. I just… I dunno Vi. I don't know how she would react to me having a three year old son. Hell I didn't know about Mickey until a few months ago… But I don't know how to explain all of this to her without her freaking out." He said and Darrel giggled,

"Hell!" He exclaimed, and Violet went wide eyed,

"Darrel James!" She scolded him and the tone of her voice made Darrel's eyes water. He sniffled and began to cry, moving to hug his mother. Two-bit smiled, most of the gang now tried to use guilt to punish their children, only Dallas would smack Daniel's bum, because that's how he and Shay decided to do it. Her family was brought up that way (it only happened on occasion) but it kept the children in line.

"Two-bit I think you should consider telling Megan about your son… The longer you wait chances are the angrier she'll be about keeping him a secret. He's a cute kid with your happy personality; chances are she'll love him as much as you do, alright?" Two-bit nodded before kissing the toddlers' heads before going back to work.

* * *

**To the reviewers: **

**Weasleytwins12: **I did forget to mention Jay but as you read he's in this chapter! Thanks so much for giving the sequel a chance! Your reviews are greatly appreciated!

**Milou03:** I will be including bits and pieces of the Vietnam war, but only what our boys suffer when they get home. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter as well! Thank you for your long reviews!

**Guest: **Thank you so much for reading Tulsa Rain and then this one! I know it's a long stretch but I appreciate it!

**Delgados: **Thank you so so much for your continued reviews! I will try to keep the updates coming quickly, and hopefully they're to your enjoyment!


	3. Run

Violet returned to her parents' house with her brother and toddlers. She helped Jay from the Impala and into his wheelchair, putting Darrel in his lap and she let Hailey follow them in,

"Hi guys!" Violet's mother exclaimed, reaching to pick Hailey up. Jay put Darrel down and rolled down the hallway, and Darrel stood there confused before reaching to grip Violet's pants. Violet sighed and reached to pick him up, looking at her mother,

"He hasn't been much better mom. He barely said two words at the diner." Madelyn sighed,

"Honey he's still suffering from PTSD… I'm sure he'll come around soon." Violet nodded and began walking into the kitchen to begin making lunch.

* * *

When Darry got home from work he immediately went to the shower, walking past the small office two doors down from the bathroom. He noticed his youngest brother sitting in the chair busily working on an assignment.

"Hey kiddo," Darry said, walking in and leaning against the desk. Ponyboy looked up and smiled, sitting back, stretching and taking his glasses off,

"Hey Dar, how was work?"

"Work was work," Darry said grinning, "What are you working on?"

"An English paper that's due tomorrow, then I have to start helping my professor grade the papers."

"Where's Lexi?"

"She went in to help out with the kindergarten class that she volunteers with. She wants to make sure she's got all of her hours." Darry nodded,

"Alright Pony, I'm going to get a quick shower, can you grab the mail if you get a minute?" Darry started down the hallway and into the bathroom.

After Ponyboy finished his conclusion he whistled for Scout to follow him and he went down the stairs and out the main door towards their mail box. Scout followed him obediently, stopping when he saw a letter in the familiar chicken scratch hand writing that belonged to his brother, Sodapop.

He started going back inside until he saw his best friend's truck coming down the gravel road. He waved and moved over so Johnny could drive down the driveway. His fiancée Tabitha was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Hey Ponyboy!" Johnny exclaimed, pulling up next to him.

"Hey Johnnycakes! How's the shelter doing?" With help from the guys and his own savings, Johnny opened up a dog shelter to take care of strays and give misunderstood dogs a second chance. Johnny had managed to bring back dogs that should have been on death row. Now Tabitha had joined him and helped him by checking the dogs before they were adopted to families. Every week Johnny brought home a dog so it could learn how to socialize. Hope, a chestnut pit-bull, was taken in as a puppy and she didn't let anyone mess around while Johnny wasn't looking, especially around Beckett. Hope helped Johnny and Tabitha teach the dogs proper mannerisms and behaviour.

"Pretty good! We just got a new shipment of Rottweiler puppies in and we're organizing another meet and greet adoption within the next few weeks to get them all a home rather quickly."

Ponyboy nodded and noticed a medium sized dog with curly hair sitting on the floor shaking, "Alright, I'll see you later guys." He said before hitting the truck and Johnny drove to the smaller house on the back of the property. Mrs. Mathews was reading a story to Beckett while he followed along sitting in her lap. Once the door opened Hope barked and Mrs. Mathews looked up.

"Hey Mrs. Mathews," Johnny said and she smiled, closing the book and standing up,

"Hi honey," She said, kissing his head. Since his accident Mrs. Mathews had been his mother figure, and even more so once Beckett was born.

"Was he good today?" Tabitha asked, taking Beckett from Mrs. Mathews.

"Yeah, he always is. I'm just going to grab Mickey from the back room okay?" Tabitha nodded,

"Of course, did you want to stay for dinner?"

"No no, I've got to get to my son's house and help him out a bit, and Lucy is probably waiting for me there. Thank you for the offer though, sweetheart."

* * *

_Dear Darry, Ponyboy, Violet and Lexi,_

_Steve just got back today and it looks like I'm staying until the war is over. It's still hell here and the only thing that keeps me going is you guys and Leti. God, I miss her so much. I won't be seeing you guys for a while and now that the whole platoon is back we're heading into the bush. I wanted to let y'all know that I won't be reachable for a few weeks, and that I love y'all. I don't have time to write y'all individual, but I want you guys to count your blessings and not let anything go without a fight._

_With Love,_

_Sodapop Curtis. _

Pony finished reading it out loud, looking up at his brother, sister-in-law, and long-time girlfriend. Darry sighed and squeezed Violet's hand tightly.

"He'll be alright," She said softly and Darry wrapped his arm around her. Lexi took Pony's hand and kissed his knuckles softly, rubbing them. Most men were killed in the bush by traps or disguised men.

Ponyboy stood up and walked upstairs and Lexi followed him,

"Ponyboy?" She asked softly, hugging him from behind.

"I… I just can't believe that he's not coming home…And going straight to the bush." He said softly, and Lexi kissed his shoulder softly,

"I know… But he's strong Pony… And he wouldn't give up on you and Darry that easily." She said, rubbing his chest and he turned around, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers.

"Alexus I can't wait until I marry you… I love you and I need you in my life. Without you… I don't know how long I'd last." Lexi only smiled and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Come on, let's go for a run." Lexi said softly, and she could feel Pony start to grin, and they got changed and headed out the front door, running for a few miles until they stopped at a park bench, both breathing hard. Pony grinned and looked over at Lexi, watching as she slouched against the bench, watching the clouds.

She smiled over at him and reached to take his hand,

"What else is bothering you Pony?" She asked and he shrugged,

"I just… I feel jealous that Steve was able to come home and see Evie and Beth while Sodapop stayed back. Part of me wishes that it was Sodapop that came home and not Steve."

"But Steve is married with a child Ponyboy… And I know Sodapop is engaged but he doesn't have people depending on him." Pony felt a smile cross his face and he rolled his eyes,

"I hate it when you make sense Lexi. It's impossible for me to get mad at you. You should have considered a lawyer instead baby."

Lexi laughed and kissed him, before quickly getting up and starting to run, and Pony laughed, racing after her.


	4. Love

Darry went to the Cookie Jar on his lunch break to see his wife, who now owned the bakery. Since the death of Maryann's husband, she gave the bakery to Violet so she could go to Arizona to be with her children.

"Hey baby." He said, walking over to the table where she was eating her lunch. She grinned and leaned over to kiss him,

"This is a pleasant surprise!" She exclaimed, smiling and taking another bite of her sandwich while he sat down.

"I thought I'd come see my favorite girl." He said winking, and Violet went to get a tray with some samples on it, placing in on the table,

"Help yourself." She said, and they ate in a comfortable silence until they were finished their meals.

"So Johnny told me today that he and Tabitha are looking for a house; they might be moving soon." Darry said and Violet smiled,

"Well that's fitting seeing as they're engaged now."

"Really? Johnny never mentioned anything about it."

"I think he's waiting until the barbeque to tell everyone; instead of telling everyone at Daniel's party. I noticed the ring on Tabitha's hand, that's how I found out." She said, and Darry nodded thoughtfully.

"Well it would be fun to help plan another wedding- if they want our help of course."

Violet nodded smiling, before getting a curious glint in her eyes, "Who do you think his best man will be?" She watched her husband as he shrugged and sighed,

"I don't know. You know as well as me that he's close to both Pony and Dallas." They sat for a few more minutes in silence, then Violet took Darry's hand in her own,

"Have you heard from Sodapop?"

"Not yet. But we also haven't got a letter from the government either." Darry said quietly, and Violet got up and moved to sit in his lap,

"He'll be okay." Darry kissed her forehead and stood up after she did,

"I'm going to pick the kids up early from your mom's and give her a little break. Did you want to bring home some pizza or something?"

"Could you make some of your famous macaroni and cheese?" Violet asked, beaming. Darry chuckled and nodded,

"Sure thing beautiful. I love you." He said, kissing her before leaving.

* * *

Violet laid her head on Darry's chest later that night, panting as a result of the activities they just did.

"That was great babe." Darry said, his voice making his chest rumble; giving away the grin that plastered on his face. She laughed lightly and reached up to kiss him softly,

"I love you." She said, before resting her head back on his chest, closing her eyes.

"Violet?" He asked softly after a while, waiting for her to look at him before he continued, "Can we have another baby?"

Violet licked her lips, "Well you've already forgotten your condom."

"Well you said you only wanted two children."

"I said that when we were only dating and struggling for money. We both own our own businesses now and a house. Lexi and Pony are looking for a place to move to and that will free up the fourth bedroom," Violet felt her heart warm when she saw how happy her husband was, "You've always said you wanted a big family, I remember you telling me that back in high school."

There was a soft knock at the door and Darry moved to cover them,

"Yeah?"

Ponyboy opened the door and stuck his head in slowly, grinning, "You should try and refrain from screaming, it scares Hailey." Darry started laughing as he felt Violet's face grow hot on his chest,

"Yeah yeah, sorry kiddo." Pony just rolled his eyes, yet smiled none the less. He closed the door and went back downstairs, sitting beside Lexi as she watched a horror movie on the television.

"Where did you go?" Lexi asked, pulling her legs up and tucking them under her as she moved back into his embrace.

"I went to let them know that they were scaring Hailey."

"Ponyboy, why would you intrude on their privacy like that? Especially since it's their first time together since Darrel was born." Pony chuckled and leaned down to kiss her. They continued to kiss and touch until the front door opened. They looked to see Johnny and Tabitha standing there hand in hand.

"Hey," Ponyboy said; breathless as he moved away from Lexi.

"Hey man. We're here to talk to Darry," Johnny said, "Is he available?" They turned to see Darry and Violet coming down the stairs when they heard footsteps.

"Hey, come on." Darry said, turning to walk down the hallway towards his office, Violet, Johnny, and Tabitha following. They all sat on the couches once Darry closed the door.

"So, we've found a nice house in the middle class area of Tulsa." Johnny said and Darry grinned,

"Man that's great!" Darry exclaimed and Tabitha grinned widely,

"It's got four bedrooms and one and a half, and a basement!" Tabitha exclaimed excitedly, squeezing Johnny's hand tightly.

"Well that's great! Did you guys put an offer in?" Darry asked and Johnny nodded, "Yeah we did. An our agent called us back."

"And?" Violet asked, looking at them expectantly.

"The sellers accepted!" Tabitha blurted out, grinning. Darry and Violet grinned, standing up to hug them tightly.

"So when do you get the house?"

"In two weeks we get the keys, and then we'll paint and get furniture and appliances." Johnny said, and Darry nodded.

"Well congratulations!" Darry said, and Johnny reached to shake his hand,

"We'll have the first and last month's rent later in the week okay?" Darry nodded and watched as the girls hugged each other and then as Tabitha and Johnny walked out.

He smiled as Violet walked over and sat in his lap, resting her head on Darry's shoulder,

"I love you Darry." She said, and Darry kissed her temple,

"I love you too."

* * *

Johnny smiled as he heard his son squeal as he walked onto the porch of the small house, and he wrapped his arm around Tabitha, saying to her quietly, "_Te amo." _

Tabitha giggled and kissed her fiancé. "I love you too, Johnny."


	5. Fight

Leticia stood against the sink, leaning against it in a stressed fashion. She had just received a letter confirming her worst fears, Sodapop had been shot while on his mission in the bush. They were sending him home, however, since the bullet had lodged itself into his thigh. It had ripped through a lot of muscle and tissue, damaging nerves-the note had said. Leticia was almost sure that Sodapop would be home for good now. No bullet damages muscle and nerves, letting the victim get away early right? She could practically hear some of her father's stories running through the back of her mind- ones of him getting shot. He never got away unscathed, he had gotten hit in the leg and was off of it for six months.

Though Soda was going to be in enormous pain, she hoped it was serious enough he didn't have to go back to that hell hole. At Violet and Darry's wedding, she and Sodapop had done a lot of talking about their future together. They both wanted kids sooner rather than later, both of them wanted the same type of wedding and they wanted to live in the Curtis house and raise their family there.

However once Sodapop was drafted, they discussed him serving the time straight, instead of having breaks because he'd get home faster that way. No she regretted it- she thought since they'd gone long distance before when she was with family in Mexico, they could do it again no problem. But this time was different, because now she didn't wait to hear how his week was, she waited to get a letter saying that he'd been killed. Sodapop was too good to everyone to be killed. If he was killed, life would seem unjust. Soda had never willingly or purposely hurt someone, unless he'd been provoked, like the rumble after the Church fire. He'd much rather go dancing to burn off steam then fight.

While she re-read the letter she didn't realize how nervous and sick she began to feel. She walked over to her phone and called Violet, wondering if she'd be up at nine on a Saturday morning.

"Hello?" She heard a sleepy voice ask, and Leticia was glad that someone was awake, even if it were only Lexi (as they were practically sister-in-laws)

"Hey Lexi... Is Violet asleep still?"

"I think so... I'm still in my room. Hailey's still asleep by the sounds of it, but I believe Ponyboy is up... Do you want to talk to him?"

"No..."

"Is... Is there anything you want to talk about?" Lexi heard Lete take a deep breath before continuing,

"Sodapop got shot... While he was in the bush and... He's coming home. But his leg is badly damaged."

"Is he alive?" Lexi asked, and continued after she heard Leticia say yes, "Well if he's alive and still breathing on his own I'd say you're pretty lucky. He might have problems walking but you'll have him home in one piece."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Lexi smiled tiredly and said goodbye after talking a while longer and she placed the phone back on the night stand before pulling her covers back over her shoulders so she could try and sleep longer now that it was the weekend.

* * *

After another hour of sleep she heard the door open quietly, and she felt the bed move on either side of her.

"Pony?" She mumbled, moving her hands around slowly to try and feel for his warmth. However all she felt was long soft hair and fur. She opened her eyes to see Hailey on one side of her and Scout on the other.

"Good morning sweet pea," She said softly, moving the covers back so Hailey could cuddle her. Hailey grinned and giggled, moving in to her embrace.

"Mornin' Lexi..." She said, holding onto her shirt.

"Where's your mama and daddy?"

"They still sleepy." She said, "And Uncle Pony downstairs with DJ." Lexi nodded and saw it was close to eleven now, and she knew how much Violet and Darry loved to "catch up" on Friday nights, and most Saturday mornings they slept until noon.

"Are you hungry?" She asked, yawning. Since this week had been busy for the young couple they had also spent the previous night catching up. Hailey nodded and watched as Lexi got out of bed and got changed. Lexi picked her up and carried her downstairs and saw Pony feeding DJ, while watching the bacon and eggs he was cooking. He smiled at her before putting Darrel in his high chair, getting the fruit out of the fridge to accompany the breakfast. Lexi smiled and sat Hailey at the table, getting her a glass of milk. Hailey giggled and eagerly drank her milk, smiling at Lexi,

"Tank you." Lexi smiled and kissed her head, before Violet walked down in a house coat.

"Morning guys." She said, making herself a cup of coffee.

"Hey, how was your night?" Pony asked and Violet smiled,

"Good, how was your night?" She asked grinning.

"Great." He said smiling. She went and sat on the porch, smiling when Hailey walked out and reached up for her mom. Violet kissed her head and rubbed her back,

"Hi sweetheart..." She said, and Hailey smiled,

"I had a bad dweam last night mama." She said softly and Violet rubbed her back,

"But you're okay now baby. Right?" Hailey nodded and Violet turned to see Tabitha walking over, already in a sun dress even though it was only ten thirty in the morning.

"Hey Tabby." Her best friend grinned,

"Morning!" She said cheerily, walking up the front steps, sitting beside her.

"How's everything with Johnny going?"

"Good... Really good." She said grinning, last night the three of them had gone to the park and then for ice cream. "My family is planning on coming down to meet Johnny and Beckett before the wedding... They're not very impressed Johnny didn't ask my dad for my hand in marriage.. But Johnny said that he just couldn't wait and risk losing me." Violet looked at her friend and sighed,

"You're upset he didn't follow your family tradition."

"Well... Yeah. I mean everyone in my family has followed it... And now... I'm the first one to break that." Violet nodded and glanced her friend,

"If it really bothers you that much.. Maybe you should tell Johnny. He didn't want to hurt you but if it makes you that upset he probably would fix it." Tabitha sighed,

"He's going to get upset Vi... We.. We've been fighting a lot lately," She said quietly, "Between buying the house and trying to plan a wedding..." Tabitha sighed and sat down, "Johnny's been working a lot of over time lately to try and pay for everything and he's wearing himself down but he won't stop. I've tried to tell him that we don't need a huge wedding but he won't listen Vi. I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself."

Violet sighed and hugged Tabby, "Johnny... Johnny gets it in his head that something needs to be a certain way and that's what he wants."

"I know... But I don't want any of this. I just want him. I don't care if we get married at a court house and live in a dump. All I want is him and Beckett."

"I just wanted to give you something nice." They heard a voice say, and they turned to see Johnny standing there in sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

"Johnny..." Tabitha said softly and Johnny shook his head.

"I saved for ages to get you that ring. I've never met your parents and I didn't want your parents ruining my chances of you becoming my wife. I wanted you to have a nice wedding, because it's all a show to you. You need to be the center of attention and I'm trying to give you the wedding you've dreamed of."

Tabitha sniffled and Violet thought better of interrupting their fight.

"Johnny all I want is you... I don't want you working sixteen hours a day... Please... I just want you. That's all I want." She said, tears running down her face. Johnny sighed and walked up the porch and wrapped his arms around her tightly in a hug,

"I'm sorry..." He said softly and she sniffled, gripping his shirt tightly.

"I love you. Okay? I don't care what kind of wedding we have... I don't care if we don't have a wedding... All I want is you. I can't keep fighting with you Johnny."

Johnny simply kissed her, and Violet went inside and gave Darry a hug, memories of her and Darry's biggest fight running through her mind,

"I love you." He grinned and rested his forehead against hers,

"I love you more."

Once it seemed quiet enough Darry went out and offered for the couple to come in and have some breakfast. They both accepted and came in hand in hand and Violet was happy to see, but only time would tell if they stopped fighting.

* * *

After breakfast the boys went into Darry's office to talk and Violet stayed in the family room with the girls. As usual, their topic of "private times" came up, and the girls liked to compare notes and give advice. But today, they knew Tabitha would need advice and tips, so hopefully it could release some tension from her and Johnny.

"I know Darry likes it if I wake him up from a nap and give him a little fun." Violet said grinning,

"Yeah, Ponyboy loves to have fun and then take a nap, then go for round two. Before the nap things get intimate and it's always nice to cuddle and talk to each other between rounds." Lexi volunteered.

"But what about Beckett? I mean... Me and Johnny definitely aren't the most quiet couple around... Especially if we haven't done it in a while."

"Here's what you could do," Lexi said, usually her plans were the best, "Tell Johnny to take a nap... Maybe give him a back massage and put him to sleep. Call the house and one of us will come and get Beckett, and you can change into some of your lingerie, and then wake him up. Then you guys can just call us when you want Beckett home."

Tabitha nodded, thinking about giving the plan a shot. Usually when all of the girls got together, the topic got on how Johnny looked, as a result of his scars from the fire. Evie even admitted once that she could never stay with a man like that, and it made Tabitha sick to her stomach to think of how shallow someone could be.

Johnny was a hero- he'd saved all those little kids. He'd saved Ponyboy's life as well. And to her, his burn scars were something that was part of his past. She knew that he'd get ridiculed enough as it is, he sure didn't need any other girls judging him. Tabitha herself had scars from her past, and just like she did for Johnny, he looked past them. The scars of the past never bothered either of them, as they were living in the present. Their lives were getting better together, and she couldn't be happier with the people that surrounded her.

* * *

**Big thanks to everyone who reviewed and sorry for taking so long! I had my arm in a cast for a while and I still shouldn't be typing but oh well ;)**


	6. News

Once word had gotten around that Sodapop was on his way home the whole gang was giddy and exited, practically bouncing and ready to throw him a welcome party the second he set foot on Tulsa's soil. However after countless reminders from Darry and Leticia, they realize they should wait until Soda was finished with surgery and throw the party then- he'd enjoy it more then.

Darry was in his truck on his way to work on Monday morning with his coffee and his work bag on the passenger seat. Hailey was in the back seat playing with one of her dolls- she usually came to work with him.

"Daddy?" She asked softly, and he looked at her through the rear view when he was stopped at a red light.

"I love you." She said and she grinned, and Darry's heart swelled,

"I love you more princess." He said, before going to his office in the heart of Tulsa. It was only a small building on a fairly busy street, but there was a back way in and a small lot as well. He walked in and greeted the receptionist who greeted him in return before going back to answering phone calls. He brought Hailey back into his office and let her put her little back pack on the back of her small chair when the receptionist knocked on his door.

"Darrel? Your nine o'clock appointment is here." Darry looked at the clock,

"But, it's only eight thirty?" He said and his receptionist- Sharon rolled her eyes.

"Yes I know. He's in the lunch room waiting now," She glanced through the wide window facing the lunch room. "He looks pretty nervous if you ask me." Darry shook his head.

"We're only looking for a couple more roofers." He said, getting up from his desk.

"I'll watch Hailey." Darry nodded in thanks and walked to the lunch room. He walked in and the person stood up quickly and Darry recognized Paul Holden. At first Darry was taken aback and shocked. The last time he heard from Paul, he had a full ride to some law school in California (Darry couldn't be bothered to remember which).

"Hi..." Paul said, swallowing hard. Darry nodded and stuck out his hand,

"Nice to see you again Paul." He said as kindly as he could muster. Paul shook his hand firmly and Darry sat across from him, going over his resume. Nowhere on the resume did it mention law school and Darry briefly wondered what happened. He asked Paul the usual interview questions, trying to keep it fair and open, trying to keep his emotions out of it.

"Do you have any questions for me?" Darry asked, making the final notes on the back of Paul's resume.

"I was wondering about the hours?"

"Well since you're looking for full time we work from seven until three. Over time is an option though, and most guys take the chance for over time." Paul nodded, and just as Darry was getting up Paul cleared his throat,

"Darry?" He said and Darry turned to look at his old friend, "I'm really sorry for the way I treated you back in high school. I'm not saying this to help me get the job... I just... I need to apologize for what I said and what I did."

Darry just shook his head, "We were just stupid kids Paul. Okay?" He nodded and followed Darry out, and Hailey looked up at the tall man with her father, before shying into Darry's leg.

"Is this your daughter?" Paul asked, crouching down in front of her.

"Yes, her name is Hailey." Paul grinned and got down on one knee, bowing slightly,

"My fair Princess Hailey, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you." He said and Hailey giggled,

"Hi," She said softly and Paul grinned, pulling a lollipop out of his coat pocket. He looked up at Darry,

"Is it okay?" Darry nodded and Hailey giggled, eagerly accepting the lollipop. Darry picked Hailey up and walked with Paul to the front of the office,

"You got kids?" He asked and Paul nodded, a smile crossing his features,

"Three. Two girls and a boy. Got another one on the way, another girl." Darry smiled,

"Well congratulations man."

Just as Paul was leaving Darry sighed internally. He recognized the tired features, the strained eyes, and the exhausted posture. He knew Paul must have been desperate for work, and none of the other men Darry interviewed seemed as into it or seemed to need the job as much as Paul.

"Hey Paul?"

Paul turned around and Darry smiled,

"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?" Darry recognized the relief in his eyes at the thought of a free meal. However, even though his eyes were grateful Paul wasn't so quick to accept. It took some convincing but eventually Paul accepted and Darry went back to work.

* * *

Later that night Violet and Darry were in the kitchen preparing. Violet decided to make steaks for the adults and some macaroni and cheese for the children. Around five the door bell rang and Violet went to answer it, holding Darrel. Darry watched as his wife walked to the door, she was in a nice summer dress that made her look like she was glowing. Sometimes he still found it hard to believe he managed to win her back after all those years they were apart.

Darry knew that he wasn't being completely open with her about the night he rescued Hailey, but he didn't want her to look at him differently. He decided that he needed to be open with her. He loved her, he married her because of how understanding she was. For better or worse, in sickness or in health. He walked behind Violet and rested his hand on her waist. Paul was there holding a small girl with dark brown hair, holding his left hand was a small boy about the age of three, and just behind him was a young but tired looking woman with blonde hair. Paul smiled lightly, as though he was afraid to make the first move. So Darry grinned and clapped his shoulder,

"Good to see you Paul!" He said, and they moved out of the way so Paul and his family could come in. Violet smiled and took their coats and Paul put the girl down.

"This is my wife, Beverly. And our children, Cynthia, Edward, and Teresa." Violet smiled and shook Beverly's hand,

"It's nice to see you!" Beverly smiled,

"You as well." Hailey giggled and walked over in a purple dress, dragging her teddy bear at her side.

"Mama!" She said, and Violet picked her up,

"This is our daughter Hailey, our son Darrel, and I'm Violet. I'm sure you've heard of Darry." Beverly nodded and Paul and Darry shook hands,

"Can I get you two anything to drink?" Paul smiled,

"Just a water please." Beverly nodded and rubbed her big bump, and Violet went to go and gets some cups of water.

"Well if the kids would like to play, we've got a play room," Darry said and Paul nodded, looking at the kids who nodded eagerly. Hailey grinned and lead them to her play room. Paul sat on the couch across from Darry and Beverly sat beside him. Paul wrapped his arm around her and Darry noticed how old Paul looked.

"So how's everything been?" Paul asked and Darry smiled, wrapping his arm around Violet when she took a seat next to him.

"Amazing... Pony's in university now, and the guys are mostly married and most of them have their own kids." Beverly smiled,

"How long have you two been married?"

"About a year and a half," Violet answered smiling, looking up at Darry with love in her eyes. Darry grinned and captured her lips in a quick kiss, before pulling away and looking at Paul and Beverly,

"How long have you two been married?"

"Five years." Paul said, kissing Beverly's temple. Beverly laced her fingers through his and when the timer went off about twenty minutes later, Beverly followed Violet into the kitchen,

"Did you need any help Violet?" Violet smiled but shook her head,

"Hun, you should be sitting down." However Beverly just shook her head smiling,

"I worked as a waitress until I went into labour when I was pregnant with Teresa." Violet smiled and began to make plates, and Beverly sighed lightly,

"You don't remember me, do you?"

"I... I do. But... The last time we spoke wasn't exactly a friendly experience." Violet said, recalling when Beverly and her friends used to pester Violet about dating Darry and having boy friends.

"Violet I'm really sorry... I know what I did and I regret it." Violet set the table and looked at Beverly, noticing how much she had changed.

Back in high school, Beverly was stick thin with a nice muscle tone and a pair of boobs that drove any boy crazy. She used to drive Violet crazy, especially in gym when the girls had to change- Violet had never been skinny and Beverly liked to pester the poorer girls. Her once long blonde hair was now cut short and frizzy, and instead of having healthy baby weight on her, she seemed as if she didn't gain any weight. She noticed the stress lines and the tense shoulders and she immediately knew what Beverly and Paul were going through.

"Look... It may not seem like it now, but one day things will get better Bev." She said softly, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. Beverly sniffled, wiping her eyes,

"Paul got me pregnant in our freshman year at university... Our parents were so mad they disowned Paul... My parents barely speak to me anymore. They cut off any money I was supposed to get from my grandfather... If it weren't for my grandma... We'd be on the street. Paul and I picked up odd jobs but... Paul and I both never had a job in our life and no one was willing to hire us. Between the kids and this baby... I'm not even sure the new job will make a difference in our lives," Beverly said, and Violet made a mental note to send home leftovers with the family. She bit her lip, Johnny's animal shelter coming to mind.

Recently, Johnny had started a program for families in need out of his shelter. The program that ran brought families in during the day, provided the families with a free meal and snacks, and all he asked was for the families to play with and help care for the dogs, and if possible make a small donation. However most of the families ended up volunteering at the shelter to repay Johnny. If families were in dire need he would ask some of his clients and other members in the community to help out and get the family onto their feet

"I know someone who runs an animal shelter... And he has a program that helps feed families in need... All he asks in return is for families to play with the dogs in the shelter. He provides a full meal and snacks through your visit. And... If you really, really need help, he may be able to give you help with meals until you get on your feet." Beverly nodded, sniffling.

"H-How do we sign up for it?" She asked and Violet rubbed her arm,

"I can call him after dinner and you and Paul can speak with him, okay?" Beverly nodded and everyone sat down to eat dinner.

* * *

Later that night Tabitha rolled beside Johnny, propping herself on her elbows.

"That was amazing." Johnny grinned, chuckling softly and running his hand through her hair,

"Yeah, it was." He reached forward and kissed her softly, rubbing her cheek with his thumb,

"I love you, Tabby. You mean the world to me... And I'm sorry I didn't wait until I met your parents to ask them for your hand in marriage." Tabitha smiled softly and kissed Johnny's chest,

"I know... I understand that. It... The more I think about it, the more I love you."

"I just... I've never had a girlfriend before you... I mean you know I hooked up with a few girls but I've never met any girls parents. I ain't the richest guy around and I know that your family has money... Hell I barely even passed high school Tabby."

"Johnny, if they can't see past those things and see how well you treat me, how in love I am with you, then they don't deserve to see our happiness." Johnny smiled and kissed her,

"So... Lexi came up with this plan?" Johnny asked grinning after they shared their kissed. Tabitha blushed but smiled,

"Yes... How did you know?"

"Pony once told us about how Lexi would make him take a nap and then she'd wake him up with whatever she was feeling like at that time. Don't get me wrong baby, I loved it. It was... relaxing. I feel like I love you so much all over again." Tabitha grinned and kissed him softly.

"Johnny?" She asked softly, and he smiled,

"Yes?" He asked, raising his eyebrow jokingly.

"Did... Did you want more kids?" She asked, licking her lips softly. Johnny swallowed hard,

"Of course I do Tabby... Why? What's going on?" He asked, noticing the look in her eyes. She got up and went out of the room and came back with a piece of paper.

She handed him the paper and it was a picture of two grey images on a black background.

"What... What is this?" Johnny asked, swallowing hard. A feeling in his gut gave him ideas of what it was.

"It's a sonogram... I'm pregnant." Johnny felt his face blush and he ran his thumb over the photo.

"You're... Pregnant..." He whispered, and he looked up and kissed her softly,

"It's twins..." Tabitha whispered against his lips. Johnny grinned and wrapped his arms around her, flipping her over. When Pony and Lexi came by to drop off Beckett, the couple was asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

* * *

**Big thanks to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed the last chapter! Hope you enjoyed this one!**


	7. Mother

On Sunday morning Violet woke up and saw a sight that made her heart flutter. Darry was still asleep with Hailey curled into his side and DJ sleeping on his chest. Since it was only five in the morning she moved closer to them, wrapped her arm around Hailey and fell asleep.

The next time she was awakened was when there was a deliciously sweet smell that brought her from her slumber. She felt movement beside her until Hailey giggled and touched her face,

"Mommy!" She said excitedly, attempting to open Violet's eye lids. Violet opened her eyes and saw Darry standing in front of her with a tray of food, Darrel laying on the bed grinning at her, and Hailey beside her with her hair in lop sided pigtails.

"Happy Mother's Day, baby." Darry said, leaning over and kissing her. Violet smiled and reached up to cup his face, sharing a quick but passionate kiss. Hailey squealed and covered her eyes,

"DJ no look!" She exclaimed. Darry pulled away grinning and he set the tray on Violet's lap, and watched as his wife gave the first couple bites of the French toast to their daughter, who gratefully accepted. Violet cut a bigger piece and reached to give Darry a bite, and he winked, taking a bite.

"This breakfast was supposed to be for you." He joked,

"What kind of mother would I be if I didn't feed my children?" Violet asked, cocking her eyebrow. DJ whined and grumbled and Violet gave him a spoonful of apple sauce. After a few more minutes breakfast was finished and Darry took off his shirt and pulled the covers back, bringing DJ and Hailey between his beautiful wife and himself. He wrapped his arm around all of them and kissed Violet's head. She looked up at him,

"Thank you." Darry said quietly, continuing when Violet gave him a puzzled look, "Thank you for all that you do around the house. Thank you for giving me two beautiful children and three more reasons that I need to be here, alive. It wasn't easy surviving when I lost my parents... Or after I thought I lost you or Hailey. Thank you for letting me take my time to come to terms with what happened to me." Darry took a deep breath. He knew the moment was right.

"When you were asleep... That night after Hailey went missing, the house phone rang while your parents were out. I... I thought it might have been an important call, maybe demanding a ransom or something. But the man wanted me to meet them at that house and he said we would negotiate the terms to let Hailey go.

I'd never been so scared in my life, Vi. When he... When Kessler opened the door... The stench that floated out from the house... I couldn't take it. My urge to throw up... He took me to see Hailey. The room they were keeping her in was identical to the one she had here. That's why I couldn't go in her room... And why I wanted it redone so badly. Once I saw Hailey was okay... I let them do whatever they wanted. They... Burnt my back with metal rods... Hit me a couple times and made me watch while they tortured Jay.

Most of the time when I was in a coma... The only thing that played over and over again was my funeral. You were there... I mean... You were a train wreck. Hailey was a wreck... Then it would flash forward years in advance and... You never got over me. You raised Hailey and DJ on your own. I never wanted that for you Violet." Darry said quietly, and looked over to see his wife with tears streaming down her face. He reached over and gently wiped them away with his thumb.

"Thank you, for loving me." He said quietly, and Violet reached up and kissed him. He pulled away when he heard a small snore from his daughter and saw both of his children asleep against Violet.

"What time are your parents coming?" He asked her and she looked at the time,

"Probably around twelve or one. Where's Ponyboy?"

"He's with Lexi, he went out with her and Lexis's mother for the day." Darry provided, raising his eyebrow when he saw the gleam in her eyes. She grinned,

"Can you put the kids to bed?" She asked, and he nodded, quickly but carefully taking the kids to their rooms.

* * *

A couple hours later Violet changed into a dark blue and white polka dot dress, pulling her hair into a pony tail. Darry smirked and watched her get dressed from his spot on the bed.

"You're so beautiful." Violet grinned and walked over to him, kissing him,

"If you play your cards right, I might just have a surprise for you tonight."

Darry grinned and kissed his wife before their door bell rang, and Violet went down to open it, getting the bouquet she had purchased yesterday, grinning when she saw her mom and dad there, Jay close behind in his wheelchair.

"Happy Mother's Day!" Violet said happily, hugging her mom. Her mom grinned and hugged her tightly,

"Happy Mother's Day to you too baby." She said, before following Violet in.

"Where are Darrel and the kids?" She asked, and Violet smiled,

"Darry's getting the kids ready, I think they just woke up from their naps."

"So honey, how has your mother's day been?" Her father asked, kissing her head.

"Great! The kids and Darry made me breakfast and... Well Darry finally felt comfortable enough to tell me what happened." She said, before taking a deep breath, calming her emotions that started to make her teary eyed at the thought of Darry having to go through that.

"I'm going to get started on lunch, okay?" She said, before walking into the kitchen and getting out the sandwiches and the sandwich meat, along with numerous vegetables and sauces to go along with it.

Lately Jay had been attending therapy and he'd been improving immensely. He remembered more from his life previous to the accident, although it was still hard for him to remember his parents, he now remembered Violet, Darry, and his niece and nephew. Jay rolled into the kitchen, looking at his baby sister,

"You need help?" Violet smiled at him,

"Sure, could you bring the tray of meat into the dining room?" Violet asked and Jay nodded, placing the tray of meat onto his lap. He was back into the room a couple minutes later and he bit his lip,

"Vi?" She turned, still somewhat surprised that he was starting to remember her after all this time, "I... I met this girl at therapy... And... Well I really like her."

"What's her name?" Violet asked, trying not to give away her shocked expression,

"Her name is Dianna... She's about thirty and she's got two little girls... She's the secretary. The girls' father hasn't been in the picture since the youngest one, Cassandra was born."

"And... Have you met the girls?"

"Yeah... They're really sweet."

"What are they doing for Mother's Day?"

"I think they're just staying home."

"How serious are you with her?" Jay was quiet for a few moment before a grin crossed his face,

"Really serious Vi. I like her a lot and her daughters are so cute... I just... I want to be with them all the time."

Violet smiled, "Well... Call her and see if she wants to meet us." Jay grinned and nodded, rolling over to the telephone.

Darry walked down in a pair of dark wash jeans and a white tee-shirt, and Violet grinned when she saw him. He looked so sexy with the plain white tee, not to mention a child in each arm.

He walked over and gave her a kiss, before smiling and handing her DJ, putting Hailey down and hugging Violet's mom.

"How has work been?" Violet's father asked, shaking Darry's hand.

"Great actually. We just hired a new roofer who is showing potential, and hopefully within the next few weeks we can sign a contract to start moving over into neighbouring towns." Violet's mother grinned,

"That's amazing!" She picked Hailey up and went with her to the play room, and Violet made some food for DJ.

Later that night, once her parents, Jay, and Jay's girlfriend left, Ponyboy and Lexi offered to take the kids to her house that night so the couple could have alone time.

* * *

Dally came home that night from work with a bouquet of red roses, his white shirt covered in dirt and his tool belt hanging loosely from his waist. He got out of his truck and saw his beautiful girlfriend and their child sitting in her lap, giggling away without a care in the world. Although Dallas hated working six days a week most of the time, this was the reason he did it. He needed to support his family, pay the bills, become Shay's husband. He had worked seven days this week and barely saw Shay, but with the over time he managed to buy her an impressive ring, and he hoped beyond anything that she said yes.

"Happy Mother's Day, babe." He said, as he walked over and kissed her passionately. She giggled and kissed him back and Daniel squealed, clapping his hands when Dallas leaned down and kissed his head.

He handed Shay the roses, pulled the box out of his pocket and got down on one knee,

"I remember first laying eyes on you Shay... And for the first time in my entire life, my heart fluttered. Since then, I've been changing, becoming a man. You're helping me change into a father and hopefully a good husband. I know I ain't the best guy around baby, but I'll never stop loving you. I promise you right now, that I'll never cheat... steal.. or lie to you. Okay?" He opened the box and the ring shone in the fading afternoon light. "So... Will you marry me?"


	8. Welcome

The next Saturday Tabitha's family flew into town and Violet had to host them on her own while Tabitha and Johnny were at work and Darry was at the hospital with Leticia as Sodapop went in for surgery. Knowing that Tabitha's family used to be overbearing she hoped for Johnny's sake that things had changed and they were less pushy and less judging. Yet she knew the moment they rolled up in an expensive Ferrari that they hadn't changed a bit. She looked over as her children played on the porch and mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen.

"Violet!" Tabitha's mother exclaimed, walking over and giving her a hug. Violet smiled and hugged her back,

"It's great to see you again Mrs. Smith." Fernanda Smith, born Fernanda Martinez, married a rich white man whose family helped create the Tastee-Freeze. Along with other Mexican servants, Fernanda taught her own five children Spanish, their heritage, and where their people had originally come from.

However coming to Tulsa was something Fernanda and George had been deeply dreading. Both of them hoped that Tabitha would choose one of the wealthy boys that the family knew well. But instead, she had to move to a hick town and marry a _greaser_ than owned a dog shelter and lived on a property that his friend owned. Not to mention, Tabitha was the main bread earner in the family as she was a veterinarian, and Johnny owned the shelter that ran mainly on donations.

"Your house looks so lovely!" Fernanda said, pulling back and looking at the house that she hardly expected to see Violet standing in front of. She had always been interested in the rougher boys that would never be able to give her...well, what she had now.

"Thank you!" Violet picked Darrel up and took Hailey's hand, "These are my children, Hailey Noelle and Darrel Ethan."

"Oh they're beautiful!" She said, reaching to take Darrel, who willingly went into her arms.

Violet smiled at Tabitha's father, who in return gave her a small smile. George was an all business man that was missing a week and a half of work to meet his daughter's prospective husband.

"Where's Tabitha?" He asked, and Violet smiled,

"Well Tabby and Johnny are at work." She looked at her watch,

"They should be back in about thirty minutes, did you want to come inside?" Fernanda nodded and followed Violet into the house.

Violet put Hailey on the couch, "Are you hungry?" Both of Tabitha's parents nodded and Violet began to work on putting together a late lunch for the couple. She went out with a salad and some left over chicken from the previous night's dinner,

"I believe Tabitha and Johnny want to treat you for dinner, so I just put together a quick snack," She said, handing them plates, getting some baby food for Darrel.

"So how is work going?" George asked and Violet smiled,

"Amazing actually. Sales have triples since I took over the business and we've started to cater big events rather than the smaller events we used to do."

"That's wonderful." George replied and Fernanda looked at Violet,

"Are you and your husband planning to have more children?" Violet smiled,

"Well, yes. Since my husband is from a big family he loves the feel of one."

"Big family?" George asked and Violet smiled,

"He has six brothers."

"Wow!" Fernanda exclaimed, a hand over her heart, "Their poor mother."

"Their mother love each one of them unconditionally," Violet added quietly, just as the phone rang, "Excuse me. Hello?"

"Hey beautiful." Darry's voice calmed her down almost instantly and she sighed softly,

"Hi honey."

"How is everything going? Worse than you thought?" Darry asked, noticing how miserable his wife sounded. Violet plastered a smile on her face so her best friend's parents wouldn't suspect anything,

"Yeah!" Darry chuckled and shook his head,

"Sodapop is out of surgery, everything went well. The doctor's are optimistic he'll be out in a week or so, but he'll have to go through the physical therapy to get the muscle tone back."

"Baby that's amazing. If he's awake tell him that we'll be stopping by later to see him okay? I'll bring down some food for you and Leti."

"Okay perfect. Try not to let them get to you baby, okay? Love you and see you soon."

"Love you too." Violet hung up and gave herself a few seconds to compose herself and she went back to chatting with George and Fernanda.

* * *

Meanwhile Johnny and Tabitha hurried around their little two bedroom bungalow to clean it and make it appear perfect, all the while cooking a meal. Johnny had done his best to put together a three course meal (besides Darry he was the best cook in the gang). They had chicken parmesan, pasta with a vodka sauce, garlic bread, and Caesar salad. Tabitha had nervously decided to put on her engagement ring, knowing that on top of insulting Johnny for the lack of his high school diploma and the fact that he had little money and a child out of wed lock... Johnny was the boy she was told never to bring home. But, home is where the heart is, and she'd never met anyone with a bigger heart than Johnny. In the years they'd been together she'd never heard Johnny raise his voice. He was an absolute amazing father to Beck, and she loved Beck like her own son.

"Mama," Beck called from his playpen, sitting with his stuffed animals surrounding him. Tabitha smiled and walked over, picking him up. He looked spiffy, for a baby. They dressed him in a pair of jeans and then Tabby decided to have him match Johnny since they looked identical anyways, so she put him in a white tee-shirt. Johnny had a black button down on top of the white and Tabitha thought he looked absolutely sexy.

She kissed Beck's head and looked at Johnny as he put the chicken back in the oven, "Ready to go and get them?" Johnny nodded and kissed her softly,

"Just remember, no matter what happens, nothing will stop us. I love you." She whispered, before taking his hand.

"I love you more," He whispered before following her to the house. Violet had them out back and they saw Tabitha and Johnny leave the house, so the elderly couple both stood from the chairs and shook Johnny's hand firmly, giving Tabitha a side ways hug,

"And who do we have here?" Fernanda asked, and Tabitha smiled,

"This is Beckett, and he's a year and a half."

"He's beautiful," Fernanda replied, reaching for Beckett who went into her arms, resting his head on her shoulder,

"Why don't we head back and we can get started on dinner?" Tabitha mentioned and started walking along with her parents. Violet saw Johnny look over his shoulder and she smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. Johnny opened the door and began to feel extremely nervous. Since they had gotten the new place recently they had been moving most of their furniture over and they had been working on updating the new house.

"This is certainly... Different." George stated, looked at the one couch with no television and no other furniture in the living room.

"Most of our furniture is at the new house that we bought." Johnny said, rubbing his hands on his jeans nervously.

"New house?" Fernanda said, looking at Tabitha who grinned,

"It has four bedrooms and one and a half bath's, we are just waiting for the renovations to be finished and then we'll be moving in."

"What type of renovations?" George asked and Johnny smiled,

"We're putting in a new kitchen and redoing the roof and porch."

"That's a big job," He commented on it and Johnny smiled,

"Yeah, but we got a good price on the house so we're making it more of our own." George nodded and went back to looking around. Johnny went into the kitchen and started to dish out supper. He got out the bottle of wine that he had for special occasions and he hoped her parents liked it.

"So Johnny," George said when they sat around the table, "Tabitha tells us you own a dog shelter."

Johnny nodded, "Yes, I do my best to help dogs that would otherwise be on the street."

"Even if their dangerous?"

"We have our own dog that was three when we first found her. She's a pure bred pit-bull, and she doesn't really let any dog do anything bad while we're not looking."

"You mean, you bring the stray's here?" Fernanda asked fearfully.

"Yes," Tabitha replied confidently, "That's what makes our shelter different from the Tulsa Shelter. We bring them here and they learn how to be social and live in a house setting, rather than the kennel they stay at. They also learn the basic commands, depending on the skill level Johnny teaches them more advanced tricks."

"What about Beck?" George asked, leaning forward. He seemed rather intrigued with the business idea.

"Well, Beck loves animals and he helps us baby proof the dogs. If we're not looking Hope becomes his protector." Johnny said, and George nodded,

"How many kennels do you have?"

"We have 50 private kennels and the dogs that are the friendliest we keep in a pen."

"How about puppies?"

"The puppies we usually host adoption days to try and get them a home. They get adopted quicker than our older dogs, and we usually host adoption days for our older dogs once a month, and we've worked hard to put together a standard for adoptions."

"Now, do you have sponsors?" The question threw Johnny off for a second and he had to think about what the question a couple times before shaking his head,

"We had been looking for sponsors but no one was really willing to sponsor and team up with us."

"I'll tell you what," George said, leaning forward, "If this thing goes well, I'll speak to my business partners and we'll see about expanding and enhancing your shelter."

Johnny's jaw dropped and George grinned, reaching to shake Johnny's hand.

Fernanda smiled and went into the kitchen to get another wine glass when she noticed that Tabitha didn't have one. She handed it to Tabitha and she swallowed hard,

"Mom... I can't drink."

"Oh nonsense." Fernanda said, waving her hand. Tabitha swallowed hard,

"I'm... I'm pregnant mom, with twins."

* * *

Leti sat waiting in the cafeteria with Darry, barely eating the food she bought.

"He's going to be okay Leti... He didn't fight this hard to make it home and give up in surgery." He said softly, reaching to take her hand. Leti nodded and swallowed hard, trying to calm her nerves. She squeezed Darry's hand and sniffled,

"Sodapop and I were... Talking about moving out of your parents house once he got back from the war... maybe move more West if we can afford it."

"Well... I'm happy for you two." Darry said, plastering a small smile on his face.

The doctor that was performing Sodapop's surgery walked over to the pair and smiled, "The surgery went great. He's back in his room, he won't be awake for at least another thirty minutes or so. He'll need to attend physical therapy to gain the muscle back but I'm optimistic that in the next few months his physical health will be back to normal."

Both Darry and Leticia nodded thankfully, and Darry shook the doctor's hand, "Thank you so much sir." The doctor smiled and walked away and Leticia looked back at Darry,

"I'm going to wait for Sodapop to wake up."

"Alright, I'm just gonna give Violet a call and check in with her."

While on her walk to Sodapop's room Leticia wrung her hands nervously. Should she get anything for him? Flowers or chocolate, or maybe some balloons? She knew he'd definitely love the balloons, but then again that was before the war. Before he'd watched countless horrific scenes unfold that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

What if he wasn't the same Sodapop she knew only a short time ago? Had he'd seen too much and broken while fighting a battle that he hadn't of even wanted to be a part of? Sure, maybe at first he seemed a little too patriotic but eventually she and Ponyboy had caught on and he broke two days before he left.

At the last second she decided to get him balloons and a teddy bear, he'd appreciate the gesture- she knew he would. She walked into his room and took his hand, placing the stuffed animal in her lap and the balloons beside his bed. After twenty minutes of silent worry she felt his hand grip hers softly, and she looked up to see Sodapop open his eyes, looking around slowly.

"Hey baby..." She said, standing up and leaning so she was closer to him, running a hand through his hair.

"Hey," He mumbled quietly, closing his eyes again. She smiled and kept running her fingers through his hair, kissing his head every so often. After five minutes of him fighting between staying awake and sleeping, it seemed as the medicine seemed to wear off little by little. He looked around feeling more alert, and once he looked up into his long time girlfriends eyes he grinned and kissed her- rather sloppily. Leticia giggled and kissed his cheek, stroking his stubbly jaw,

"I've missed you so much." She whispered thickly, overcome with several emotions.

"I love you," He whispered, kissing her again, this time right on the money.

* * *

Ponyboy and Lexi sat in her bedroom at her mom's house, wrapped in each other's arms.

"So, I was thinking since I was offered the job at the summer camp this summer... And I mean... With my position teaching in September... I was thinking maybe we start looking for somewhere to call our own." Lexi said softly her head resting on Pony's bicep. He glanced down at her, before kissing her head,

"Do we have enough saved?" He asked quietly and Lexi swallowed hard,

"I have at least half... I've been saving my whole life."

"Well... We should stop by the bank on our way to see Soda." Then a new thought occured to him,

"What neighbourhood did you want to move too?"

"I... I want to stay in the East side. I'd rather have money on the side to travel with or buy a cottage should the opportunity arrive." Pony felt his heart grow, he'd recently discovered that as much as he had wanted to move to the country, he wouldn't be able to live somewhere so far from where he'd grown up. Not to mention the bugs they'd have to deal with in the country. He hated bugs.

"What about my old house?"

"What about it?"

"Well... We might be able to work something out with Darry... I mean, if you want to consider living there."

"Oh my gosh... Pony I never even thought of that." Pony felt disappointment rise in his chest, and Lexi sat up,

"Your old house... Would be perfect. If Darry would let us... I mean... When I think about raising a family with you... It's in that house. I never really thought about where but in everything I imagined it was in that house, maybe a little girl in Soda's old room and a boy in yours... A little tire swing in the backyard and a porch swing out front." Lexi sighed dreamily and turned to see Ponyboy watching her with a small smile playing on his lips,

"What?" She asked, raising her eyebrow. Pony chuckled and sat up, kissing her.

"Let's do it baby."


	9. Hurt

The next week went by with no interruptions and Sodapop's surgery had gone well and he was in a wheelchair with a cast up to his hip. He still had to stay in the hospital so the doctors could keep an eye on his leg and make sure that he didn't come down with any infections, but they were hoping to get him out later in the week.

Darry had been stopping by his newest job site and he checked on the progress of the new homes and his new employee's. On Friday, he stopped by with Hailey and DJ, pushing DJ in the stroller with one hand and carrying Hailey in the other so she wouldn't accidentally step on a nail. Mack, one of his old work buddies, looked up from the drawings and smiled widely at Darry,

"I see you got the whole family minus the wife!" He exclaimed, his dark brown hair now turning into grey. Darry grinned, kissing Hailey's head.

"She had to go into work today. Two weddings this weekend and she has to make the cakes, as well as the snacks and the edible table arrangements." Mack sighed,

"I guess she's working over time, no?" Darry nodded,

"Unfortunately, so me and the rugrats are running the errands," He said before looking down at Hailey, "We're running the errands for mama, right?" Hailey giggled and nodded,

"For mama!" She held onto Darry's sleeve and smiled brightly at Mack.

"You able to take a coffee break?" Darry asked and Mack checked his watch,

"Yeah, come on." Mack took his hard hat off and Hailey reached out for him, and Mack took her, kissing her head, "You being good for your daddy munchkin?" She nodded, looking around with wide eyes at the job site.

"Pepa gon' be 'ere?" She asked, looking at the houses that were being framed,

"Yeah baby! Once these homes are all done people are going to move in with their families and other little girls and boys just like you and DJ." Darry said, then put both of his children in their car seats. Mack got in the passenger side and they drove to a Dunkin Doughnuts around the corner. They sat at a table outside and began talking about the business,

"How are the new hires?" Darry asked, since Mack was in charge of the newest job site.

"Most of them are hard working, some of them need a kick in the ass to get going."

"Any that need special attention?" Darry asked, leaning forward and resting his head in his hand. Hailey watched while munching on a doughnut while her brother took a nap.

"Well, if you're still looking for a site manager Dallas is worthy. He's been working overtime every night and whenever one of the guys has a problem and I'm not around he's amazing at finding a solution, and he's quick. Saved us having to rebuild one of the homes. He's also great at covering for people when they need it."

Darry nodded, "I'll take that into consideration. How about Paul?"

"Paul Holden? He's not doing too bad, takes a considerable amount of overtime but I've already had to speak to him once about too many sick days."

"Alright. How are the kids?"

"Great! Aurora just finished her junior year in high school and Sunny's doing great out in Seattle, she loves her courses although she says her roommate is a piece of work. She's looking forward to coming home soon." Darry smiled,

"I'm glad Ponyboy and his girlfriend decided to live at home, saved us a lot of money. But he and his girlfriend are thinking of getting a place together."

"That's a big step," Mack said, rubbing his jaw, "But hell, you're only young once. If they can afford to move into a house why not. They planning on a future together?"

"Oh yeah. Ponyboy's been saving every spare dime to get her a personalized ring. He's extremely romantic."

Mack laughed and finished his coffee as did Darry,

"So your recommendation is Dallas as a site manager?"

Both got up and Mack nodded, "Yes."

"Well perfect, because I wanted to propose to you a new job. I have a position open at the office, with the new sites we're taking on, I simply can't be in that many places at once. I need someone to be my eyes and ears."

"I... I would love that Darry."

"Perfect. Stop by my office tomorrow morning and we'll talk about the further details." Darry began pushing DJ's stroller and Hailey followed beside him, holding the stroller. When they got back to the site Mack went and sent word on the site for Dallas to head to the front, and Darry waiting with the kids for him. When he walked over Hailey squealed,

"Unca Da!" Dally smirked and picked her up,

"Hey Princess, come to visit your favourite uncle?" She giggled and Dally kissed her head,

"What's up Dar?"

"I have good news for you Dal. You're getting promoted to site manager."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yes, I've got an opening for Mack and his recommendation is you."

"Woah... That's great man. Uh... Thank you." Darry smiled, and Dally rubbed Hailey's back,

"Shay was wondering if you guys would like to come over for dinner tonight?"

Darry nodded, "Sure thing Dal. What time did you want us there?"

"Six."

"Alright. We'll be there okay?" Dally nodded and put Hailey into her car seat and Darry left, driving home.

The phone rang as soon as he stepped in the door and when he picked up the phone he heard his wife crying, "D-Darry?"

"Violet? What happened? Are you alright?"

"I just... I spent half my day getting yelled at by some b-bride and her mother because the cake wasn't the right shade of p-pink and then I got back to the store and... Oh my god Darry we got robbed."

"I'm on my way baby. Are you with someone?"

"The p-police are here..."

"Okay sweetie stay with them and I'll be right there, I promise. I love you." He hung up and quickly knocked on Ponyboy's door,

"Hey, it's an emergency!"

Pony opened the door in his boxers, his hair sloppy and Lexi was on the bed behind him under the covers.

"The Cookie Jar got robbed, I need you to watch the kids." Pony nodded,

"Sure thing Dar. "

Darry grabbed his keys and began the drive that seemed to take ten times as long as usual. Even though he knew that there was a small chance Violet was hurt, he knew that his wife must be beyond frightened.

When he pulled up to the Cookie Jar the first thing he noticed was two cop cars, and then the front window broken.

He got out and a rather large cop began making his way over, "Hey, get away from here, they're closed!"

"My wife is the owner!"

"Uh huh, and I'm a star athlete. Get lost pal." A skinnier officer walked over and put a hand on the large cop's shoulder,

"Let him in Frank, Mrs. Curtis says she's his wife." Darry followed the cop and saw Violet sitting on the curb with a blanket around her shoulders along with her other employees that worked that day.

"Oh Vi," He said quietly, and she jumped up and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace that made her feel secure and protected, "Are you okay baby?"

"D-Darry he had a gun..." She said softly, gripping his shirt,

"I won't let anything hurt you, do you understand?" She nodded and began to take shaky breaths. Darry rubbed her hair and kissed her head, moving so no one could see her,

"Shh sweetie..." He held his wife tighter as her emotions started to overcome her. He eventually felt his shirt become wet, but he kept rubbing Violet's back, trying to console her.

A police officer walked over to the group, "Who had the most contact with the shooter?" Violet pulled away only slightly, from Darry and wiped her eyes quickly,

"I did, sir." He nodded at both Violet and Darry,

"If it's alright we'd like to bring you back to the station and ask you a few questions. Is that okay?"

Violet nodded, "Can the girls go home?" The police checked to make sure they had everything they needed before sending the girls home and Darry looked at the cop from before,

"Can we follow you in our car?" The cop sighed, he knew it wasn't protocol for a witness to be driving themselves but he noticed how shaken up Violet was before sighing,

"Please don't make me regret it." Darry nodded and went with Violet to their car, following the police officer. He wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders to try and help her shaking.

"H-He had a gun Darry..." She said, tears running down her face, "Oh my god..."

He squeezed her tighter, "It's okay baby... I won't let anything happen to you okay?" Violet nodded and once they got to the station she followed the police officer, holding Darry's hand like her life depended on it.


	10. Want

Darry and Violet stayed at the police station for what felt like days. The police had questioned them three or four times so far and each time had left Violet in tears. Luckily they decided to let Darry stay in the room, and he never let go of her hand.

Three hours later, they let Violet go and promised to keep her updated with any new information. It was likely the money that had been stolen was already gone. The police advised that Violet keep the bakery closed for a week so they could conduct a full investigation. She nodded, before thanking them and walking out with Darry. He wrapped his arms around her tightly once they were out if the police station and Violet held on tightly.

"It's going to be okay baby..." He whispered softly, before rubbing her hair.

"Oh god Darry what if he comes after me? H-He told me not to call the cops..."

"Baby he was tormenting you... He just wanted the cash, okay? I promise." He whispered, kissing her head. He opened the car door for her and drove them home. When they got there they noticed numerous cars out front of their house and Violet got out, moving into Darry's side immediately.

There was loud noise coming out from the house and they walked in to see the whole gang there, even Sodapop was there.

"Hey guys," Darry said, and everyone stopped and looked over,

"Hey, you alright?" Tabitha asked, walking over, her pregnancy bump getting bigger. Violet nodded, but her best friend notice the slight shake in her hands. She walked over and hugged her tightly and Darry noticed all the food on the kitchen table,

"Thanks guys... I really appreciate it. We really appreciate it."

Everyone nodded and went back to socializing and he picked up DJ, kissing his head.

"Everything okay?" Dallas asked, walking over holding Danny. Darry nodded and sighed,

"She's really shaken up but I hope we can make it through it. They held a gun to her head man." Dally shook his head slowly,

"Shit. Can't even imagine what she's going through. But I'd imagine you have some sort of idea of what she's going through. It's been a traumatic couple years for the two of you, you just got to keep going strong. You're both at that point in your career's you can afford a week or two off to spend with each other, catch up on feelings and romance that you've been missing out on."

Darry smirked, "When you get so wise in the romance department?"

"Nah, just quoted my fiancé. She's big into all that romance stuff but we don't really got the time for it right now."

"Yeah, I heard you been working a lot of over time. You'll be able to take a break from that once you start the new job. More pay and less overtime. Wait, did you just say fiancé?"

Dallas grinned and shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah. Asked her on Mother's Day... She deserves a nice wedding even though I want nothing less than that."

"You do what you have to for the woman you love."

"Yeah. You two talk about more kids?"

"Nah not really. We haven't had too much time to talk about it, but I think she does. I mean her family is huge."

"Well do _you_ want another kid?"

He shrugged, ruffling Daniel's hair, "Raising a kid ain't the hardest thing I've done."

Daniel giggled and pulled on Dally's lips and Dally pretended to eat his hand.

Pony walked over to Violet and hugged her tightly and she rested her head on her shoulder,

"Are you okay?" He whispered and she shook her head,

"No..." Ponyboy understood and just rubbed her back,

"You should get something to eat Vi... It might help you calm your nerves." She nodded and began to help herself to the plate.

Tabitha and Shay sat beside each other on the couch chatting, and Sodapop used his crutches to move out of his chair and out on the front porch.

Darry noticed and both he and Ponyboy followed their brother out.

Sodapop sat down on the bench and each brother sat on either side.

"I'm real glad you're back Sodapop..."

"God... Me too. You guys and Leti... Without you guys I'd... I wouldn't be alive right now."

Darry put his arm around his younger brother's shoulder. His heart was racing, but his mind told him this was only a dream.

"God I missed you, Little Buddy." He said slowly, and Soda smiled crookedly,

"I missed you too." He whispered.

"I thought... I thought I'd never see you again."

He could hardly believe that only three or four weeks ago he was fearing for his baby brother's life, and now he was back home, safe and sound in his arms.

"Have you heard from Steve?" Soda asked quietly and Evie walked out of the house slowly, smiling,

"Hey... I.. I just wanted to let you know Steve is on his way home..."

Soda nodded and smiled, reaching for Beth who eagerly went into his arms. She was babbling on and playing with his shirt and Soda laughed, kissing your head,

"Wow! You're a chatty Kathy like your mama aintcha?" She squealed and pointed at Evie, chewing on her own fist, "You're right little girl! That's your mama!"

Two-bit sat in his living room with his son Mickey, watching some cartoons later that night. His son had almost double the energy he did and it sure tired him out. Luckily his son also had an obsession with Mickey Mouse and he also sat quietly with all of his attention focused on the screen. Once he had told his girlfriend-Megan- about Mickey, she freaked out and backed out of the relationship rather quickly and Two-bit was left to be a single father.

He didn't want to have his mom babysitting Mickey all the time so he quit his part time comedian job.

He missed the feelings that came with relationships, but he knew that his main relationship would have to be with his son. He promised himself every day that he would be a father like Mr. Curtis, and not like his own father that ran out on him and his mother and sister when he was only six.

"Bit?" His little sister asked, and he smiled at her,

"Hey Mary. How were your classes?"

"Good... Mom said she'll stop by tomorrow morning."

He nodded, then noticed her pillow and a small bag, "You staying the night kid?"

She nodded, hugging him,

"What happened?"

"Mom's boyfriend is staying over... You know how he creeps me out." He nodded and hugged her tightly, kissing her head,

"Alright. Let me know what bed you pick okay?" She nodded and went towards the bedrooms and Two-bit sighed. This was his life, and he figured someone was mad at him for treating women the way he did five years ago. At least he still had the two most important women in his life, his mother and baby sister.


	11. Future

The next morning Darry laid in bed with his wife in his arms, she had hardly slept the night previous as she kept having nightmares from the gunman. Darry had prayed almost all night and just thanked every God he could think of for keeping Violet safe. He would have been devastated if Violet had got shot, and by some luck she didn't. He also said thanks for making sure his brother's were home safely, and everything was back to normal like it should have been all along. Violet was finally asleep, her parents had volunteered to watch the children for the week, and the kid's couldn't be happier. They got to go swimming at the lake, to the community centre and the library, and the week wasn't even over yet.

He called Mick the night before and explained what happened and told Mick he was taking the week off, and Mick understood completely.

"You know what I do and don't like to see Mick, I trust you." Mick had agreed and promised to give Darry a report of what had been checked every day.

He also thought of checking in on Dallas later in the day to see how his first day of being the Site Manager was. But no matter what his brain was telling him had to be done, he wasn't going to start any of that while his wife slept in his arms. He talked to Soda the night before, before he left with Leti, and Soda said it could take her a few days to forget. However he also added there was a possibility she never would never forget about it.

"Chances are she'll come to terms with what happened and be less afraid of it, but she may never forget. It's hard to forget about someone holding a gun to your head."

Violet woke up slowly two hours later, still in her husband's warm embrace. With the steady rise and fall of his chest Violet figured Darry was still asleep. When she glanced up she saw he was awake, and he smiled softly at her, kissing her head.

"Did you sleep okay?" Violet nodded,

"Once I was in your arms I slept great… I'm sorry I kept you up last night."

"Hey, don't ever be sorry, okay? I don't know how it feels to be that scared Violet. I've never had someone hold a gun to me but I'm so proud of you for how you've been handling it. I'm so thankful that you are willing to talk about it and not block me out," He said, rubbing her back, "I know I shut you out after what happened with Kessler and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry baby."

She shook her head and kissed him softly, resting her head back on his chest,

"I think I'm pregnant Darry…" Darry grinned,

"Seriously?"

"I haven't taken the test yet but… I missed my period last week."

"Well let's go get a test from the drug store!" He exclaimed, grinning,

Violet laughed at her husband's eagerness and got out of bed, picking out one of her dresses to wear. Darry got dressed in flannel and a pair of jeans and Violet found it so refreshing to see him in a flannel, he hardly ever wore patterned shirts- whereas most of the boys in the gang (specifically Soda) hardly went anywhere without plaid. He even wore plaid under the suit jacket to their wedding.

He took her hand and went down the stairs and they were both shocked to see Pony and Lexi sitting on the couch watching the television,

"I thought you had school today?" Darry questioned and Pony shook his head,

"Classes got cancelled." He looked down at Lexi before back at Darry,

"Is it okay if we have a talk? Whenever is okay… Just sooner rather than later, you know?"

Violet smiled, "I'll make some breakfast…" Darry nodded and looked at his little brother and his long time girl friend, taking a seat in his chair in front of them,

"What did you guys want to talk about?"

"Well… You know Lexi and I are thinking of getting a place of our own and… We were wondering if… Once Soda and Leti move out of the house if we could move in."

"That's a big step guys…" He said and both nodded, "But I don't see why not. If you guys want I can keep helping you pay for the property taxes and other things until you're both in stable jobs?"

Lexi nodded, "We would really appreciate it Darry, thank you." Darry grinned and Lexi went to go see if Violet needed any help and Pony went to grab something. He went out to the porch and Pony came out holding a small velvet box, checking behind him to make sure that Lexi wasn't there,

"It came in?" Darry questioned, and Pony nodded grinning,

"Yesterday, I had Johnny pick it up on their way home so Lexi wouldn't suspect anything."

"Well let's see it," Darry said smiling. Pony opened the lid and Darry went wide eyed,

The ring was stunning, a fairly big diamond on top of the ring, with little diamonds down the band on either side. On the inside of the ring was P+L on one side and Infinity on the other.

"Wow Ponyboy… This looks fantastic."

"When I showed her Mom and brother they agreed Lexi would love it, but when the jeweller told me the price I almost had to back out. Then her Mom gave me some money she had set aside on her own towards Lexi's wedding and her brother sent me money as well. Her Mom is really excited I'm going to ask her… Even if we still wait a little while to get some more money together for a nice wedding."

Darry grinned and pulled his little brother into a tight hug, "I'm so proud of you Ponyboy."

Pony felt his heart swell and he hugged his brother tightly, "Thank you Dar… I'm proud of you too." He felt his brother chuckle and he pulled away, Darry rested his arms against the porch railing, Pony leaned against the railing as well,

"Violet thinks she might be pregnant." Darry said softly and Pony grinned,

"Congratulations man! I didn't think you guys were trying for another."

"Well neither did I… I mean we forgot a condom after DJ was born and then we just agreed that we wanted another kid. If it happens it happens… If not we still have Hails and DJ."

Pony nodded, "Lex and I talked about kids a little while ago, we both agreed two was a good number."

"I can't believe Tabitha is pregnant." Darry said smiling, and Pony grinned,

"I think Shay might be pregnant again. Lexi said that Shay was hoping Dallas would want another kid."

Darry shrugged, "He's thinking about it I'm pretty sure."

"I'm just glad the gang is settling down. To be honest I wasn't sure if they ever would."

Darry nodded in agreement, "You and Soda I had no doubt you would settle down. Steve… Sometimes I had my doubts until I saw how he treated Evie, the same way Dad used to treat Mom. I had a feeling they'd end up getting married… I wasn't sure about a family. Johnny, Dallas, and Two-bit… I was never sure. I would have never thought Dallas would fall in love with a girl like Shay…"

"Honestly sometimes I had my doubts on Johnny settling down. I knew after what happened the night he was with Layla he started to sleep around a little… Some days he really wanted to settle down and be the father he wished he had then he would doubt himself and hope to God he never found anyone."

"Tabitha is good for him." Darry said while nodding.

"When they first started seeing each other was one of the lower points in his life and I sometimes wonder if he would still be here if it weren't for her." Pony said quietly and Darry nodded,

"We never told anyone this but… You remember the night he got out of the hospital? They were going to let him go the day before but there were some last minute check ups and what not?"

Pony nodded, "Yeah, me and Two-bit were kind of upset he wasn't going to get out that night, we worked really hard to put the welcome home party together."

"He was on suicide watch that night." Darry said quietly. Pony swallowed hard,

"W-What?"

"He tried to kill himself when the nurses weren't watching. Dallas found him and they saved him… But it's why he keeps long sleeve shirts on. Dallas and I stayed with him that night and we just talked with him and since then… He's been getting better."

Pony nodded, looking out into the big yard, sliding the box into the pocket of his sweat pants.

"Breakfast is ready boys," Violet said, sticking her head out of the screen door. Darry and Pony went into the kitchen and sat at the table and everyone started to eat quietly.

After breakfast Lexi offered to clean the dishes and Violet thanked her while Darry found the keys to his car.

Violet sat in the passenger seat and Darry rested his hand on the seat, palm up. Violet held his hand and looked over at him, "Are you nervous?"

"I don't know… Kind of I suppose. But if you're not we can just keep trying." He said with a grin. Violet rolled her eyes playfully. They pulled into the small general store down the road from them and greeted the clerk, before going to the isle,

"Should we get one?" Darry asked, intimidated with how many different brands and how many different kinds there were.

"Maybe three… A different brand each. That way we can be sure."

"Well why don't we get one, if it's positive we'll go into the doctor later in the week."

"I don't know Darry… I'd rather get three. If it's a false positive and we only get one and the doctor confirms there's nothing there… I'd be heart broken." Darry nodded in agreement and let his wife pick out three tests,

"Do we need anything else baby?" Violet shook her head,

"I don't think so. We just went grocery shopping on the weekend." She walked over to the cash register and Darry pulled some money out of his wallet, handing it to the clerk. He rang the items up and took the money, handing Darry the change and the bag to Violet,

"Good luck," He said with a kind smile. Violet smiled,

"Thank you." They went back home, on the way by both Lexi and Pony gave them a thumbs up, and Violet and Darry went into the bathroom on the second floor, and Darry sat on the side of the bathtub while Violet sat on the toilet.

She rested it on some tissue paper once she finished with it.

"How long do we need to wait?" Darry asked as she started the next two. Violet laid them all next to each other on the tissue paper and she shrugged,

"Five minutes maybe?"

He nodded and took her hand as they waited in silence. Once it felt like five minutes had passed Violet looked at Darry,

"Can you check?" She asked nervously and Darry nodded, standing up and going to the counter and looking at all the tests. His back was to Violet and when he saw the signs he couldn't help but wipe his eyes quickly, and seeing his reaction gave Violet a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, until he turned around grinning from ear to ear,

"They're positive baby… All of them." Violet squealed and jumped into Darry's arms.

* * *

Evie was waiting at the airport, using her cane as support as she waited for her husband to walk out of the gate. Dozen's of soldiers had already been reunited with their families already and Evie felt her hands shake with nerves, until her Dad placed a hand on her back,

"He'll be here Eve." Her mother came over holding Beth, who had needed to be changed.

"W-What if something happened and he didn't get on the plane?" Just as she finished her scentence she caught sight of the man who owned the way to her heart, the only man she would ever be in love with,

"Steve!" She called, waving to him. He turned around when he heard his name called and saw her, standing there in one of his old high school gym shirts with his favourite flannel on top, and a pair of jeans. His grin grew contagious as he started to jog over to where she was waiting. He dropped his bags when he got close enough, picking her up carefully and hugging her tightly. Evie sniffled and hugged him tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly,

"I promised I'd come home baby…" He said, only loud enough for her to hear. She kissed him and ran her fingers through his hair which was finally starting to get longer. He gently let her down, her Dad smiled and handed her the cane, and shook Steve's hand,

"It's great to see you son." He said, and Steve grinned,

"Thank you Dad." Evie's mother handed Steve Beth and he kissed her head, bowing his head so it was close to hers. It only took a few seconds for Evie to realize her husband was crying, so she moved beside him and wrapped an arm around his waist,

"Thank you for coming home for us Stevie…" She said softly, and he leaned over to kiss the top of her head,

"I've never broken a promise to you baby."

* * *

Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing! Who would you like to see in the next chapter?


	12. Doctor

Luckily enough Violet had been able to get an appointment with her doctor later in the week. The morning of the appointment Darry made breakfast for everyone, Violet decided to let the kids sleep in a little since Pony and Lexi offered to watch them for the day. Lexi came down the stairs first, dressed in a nice skirt and blouse, looking at Darry,

"Would it be alright if we took the kids to the zoo?"

Darry grinned, "They would love that. They haven't been to the zoo in months." He went over to his wallet and pulled out some money, handing it to Lexi.

"Oh I can't take this Darry…"

"They're going to get really hungry regardless if you pack them lunch and snacks. We don't mind if you want to get them cotton candy or candy in general. But put this towards whatever you guys want today. I don't want any change." She nodded and went into the kitchen to start making lunches. Violet came down the stairs in a nice sun dress with her hair curled.

"Wow baby you look beautiful." Darry said before going back to finish making his cup of coffee. She grinned and started cooking breakfast for everyone and Lexi smiled,

"How did you guys sleep last night?" Lexi asked, hoping they at least got a solid night of sleep.

"Better," Violet said, making a tea, "I still had a nightmare but it wasn't as scary or realistic. Oh! Tabby and Johnny have the appointment after us at the doctors, she wanted to know if you wanted to car pool?"

Darry nodded, "Yeah sounds good babe. I have to pick some things up from the office while we're in town and I wanted to check with Dallas to make sure everything is going well on the site." Violet nodded and got the eggs out of the frying pan, putting them on to plates.

"Are the kids still sleeping?" Darry asked and Violet shook her head,

"No, Pony was getting them up and dressed actually. Did you give Lexi money for the zoo?" Darry rolled his eyes playfully and went over to wrap his arms around his wife, resting his head on top of hers.

"I told Lexi she can take our munchkins off our hands for free." It was Violet's turn to roll her eyes,

"Very funny," She said, leaning back into his embrace. He kissed her head and slid his hand under her shirt to rest it against her stomach. God he loved that his wife was confident with her weight. Violet had always been pudgy but she was twice as sexy when she embraced her body and size. Every woman in the gang had a different body time, and no two of them looked alike.

Lexi quietly left the two alone and walked upstairs with a small smile playing on her face.

"Hey," She said softly when she found Ponyboy dressing Dean. She couldn't lie, seeing that Pony was so good with children always made her heart flutter.

"Hey yourself," Pony replied without missing a beat, closing the buttons on Darrel's walked over and leaned into his side and Pony grinned, he could tell Lexi was in a cuddly mood, "Can you dress Hailey?" She nodded and rested her head against his chest briefly before going into Hailey's princess themed room. She giggled from her spot in front of her doll castle, her hair in lop sided pigtails.

"Hi Lexi!" She said excitedly, "Uncle Pony said we're goin' to da zoo!" Lexi grinned and nodded,

"That's right sweetheart! Did you want to wear a dress to the zoo?" Hailey nodded and ran over to her closet and Lexi followed close behind. She and Ponyboy found out earlier in the day that Sodapop and Leti had actually bought a hobby farm and they were going to be moving out rather quickly. Personally Lexi was so excited to move out with Ponyboy and start living the rest of their lives together. Her mother had been concerned at first because they'd never lived on their own but Pony quickly assured her that Dallas, Steve, and Two-bit were only two blocks away in case of emergency.

Hailey picked a dress and Lexi helped her get into it, "What animals do you want to see today honey?"

"Uh, I wanna see da tigers! And da hippo!" She said excitedly, practically bouncing up and down.

"Okay! Well let's go and get some breakfast first, you need to eat if you want to become big and strong!" She giggled and ran over to the stairs and sat down before sliding to each step just after Lexi went down.

Darry and Violet were eating, holding each other's hand with the fingers interlaced.

"Johnny should be here any minute," Darry said looking at the time. Lexi went over to the phone and called to the small house out back and Tabitha picked it up right away,

"Hello?"

"Hey Tabby it's Lexi! Is Beck going to the sitters today?"

"No actually she's sick, we were just going to take him with us to the doctors."

"Well Pony and I are taking Hailey and Darrel to the zoo. We would love to take Beck too."

"That sounds wonderful! We'll bring him over with us, thanks so much Lexi!" Tabitha said a quick goodbye and hung up.

"Who was that?" Johnny asked, feeding Beck some breakfast.

"It was Lexi, she offered to take Beck with the them to the zoo today."

"That'd be pretty tuff, right little man?" Beck nodded with a big grin on his face as he chewed his eggs. Johnny grinned and kissed his head and looked at the time,

"Alright we gotta get going." He packed a bag quickly for Beck and put some money in the zipper pocket for Lexi and Pony. Tabitha took a quick look around the small house she'd grown to love. In a few days their house would be complete and they would be moving into their forever home. It made her nervous, moving to a new neighbourhood she'd never known. Johnny had assured her it would be safe for their kids as it was in the middle of Middle Classs territory, and Johnny still couldn't believe that his future father in law really liked him. Mr. And Mrs. Smith even offered to pay for the entire wedding, including the honeymoon, in order to help give Tabitha the wedding of her dreams.

They decided to wait until a year after the twins would be born, giving everyone time to rest and get back into the swing of things.

"Ready baby?" Johnny asked, the diaper bag on one shoulder and Beck on his hip. She nodded and rubbed her bump,

"Ready. Let's go," She said, taking Beckett from Johnny so that he could lock the door. They went to the house and Violet and Darry were already outside, putting a cooler into their car.

"I hope you guys don't mind but I have to stop at my office and the job site to check in." Tabitha grinned,

"Of course not. Just means I get to spend more time with my best friend!" Darry chuckled and Johnny took Beck inside and smiled when he found Lexi playing with the kids in the living room and Pony making sandwiches.

"Hey, thanks so much for taking him to the zoo with you guys. He's been dying to go."

"Dat's tuff!" Beck said, giggling and toddling over to Lexi and Hailey.

"I put some money in the diaper bag, there should be enough in there to cover anything he wants and some extra for you guys for watching him."

"Ah man, we don't need that. We love watching him."

"Yeah I know but we were going to pay the sitter anyways. Take it and put it towards something nice for Lexi or yourself."

"Yeah that'll be a good idea… I've been thinking about what I want to do with my life and I and I don't think what I want to do is going to make Lexi happy."

"What are you talking about?" Johnny asked worriedly, afraid his friend had changed his mind about asking Lexi to marry him.

"Nothing drastic… I just… I'm going to drop out of university and become an author."

"That's a little… Drastic." Johnny said, recalling all the hard work Pony had put into his work while trying to earn a scholarship.

"I sent in the essay I wrote in my sophomore year… Just for a contest. And the publisher. Wants me to write for them. They want my type of stories out there. They're willing to pay me big bucks to publish my essay and almost double that if I can write them a story. Any story of my choice."

"Well I'm proud of you Ponyboy. I'm sure Lexi will be too."

"Yeah I hope so… I'm going to tell her tonight." Tabitha called for Johnny from outside so he said goodbye to his best friend and his girlfriend, going out and getting in the back seat beside Tabitha. The drive to the doctor was quiet and Tabitha knew her best friend was nervous About the tests being a false positive but she had noticed her best friend had been glowing lately.

"Are you two finding out the gender today?" Johnny nodded even thought Darry couldn't see,

"Yeah, we're not going to tell the gang though. They're having a great time making bets on the genders."

"Well can we know?" Violet asked excitedly and Tabitha looked exactly at Johnny with a puppy dog face. Johnny sighed,

"I guess so baby. It just ain't fair because Pony and Lexi won't know."

"Well you could tell them." Tabitha pointed out, "Those two won't give away any secrets and plus they're not into the whole betting thing with the rest of the boys." He nodded and Darry pulled into the doctor's office, parking close to the front for Tabitha. She kissed his cheek in a friendly way when they all got out,

"Thank you. Most people don't realize at this part in my term my feet are balloons."

"I remember when Violet was this far along, I used to drop her off and the door or by a bench and go park."

"Smart man," Johnny commented, he was learning how the wrath of a pregnant woman felt. They walked in and the girls went to check in and Darry noticed how busy the office was. He found two chairs and let the girls take the seats. Johnny went to the washroom and he stood beside Violet. She rested her head against his torso and closed her eyes. She really hoped that her husband couldn't feel that her hands were shaking with nerves.

"Okay, Violet Curtis?" The nurse asked and Violet stood up, taking Darry's hand before following the nurse into the room. It had a very primary theme, Violet knew that Darry was so excited to be there for the very first appointment since Violet had gone without him the first time.

"How are you doing?" The doctor asked, walking in looking over Violet's file.

"Good, how are you?" She asked and the doctor smiled at her,

"Very good thank you. Is this your first pregnancy?"

"No, actually this will be our third child."

"Alright so you already know the deal."

"I don't, I've missed the first two appointments," Darry said and the doctor nodded,

"Okay no problem. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask okay?" Darry nodded and the doctor asked Violet to stand on the scale and he took her weight, writing it down,

"Have you taken a pregnancy test?" Violet nodded,

"We took three, they were all positive."

"Alright. So I'm going to need a urine sample, but I'll give you that at the end so then you can do it and hand it to the nurse at the front counter." Violet nodded and the doctor asked her to sit on the table,

"Okay so have you experienced any morning sickness?"

Violet shook her head, "No, but I missed my period and my breasts have been really sore."

"Alright, would it be okay if I pressed on your abdomen?"

Violet nodded and laid back as he pressed on her stomach, "Is that uncomfortable?"

She nodded, grimacing a little, "Yeah."

"Okay, well I'm going to need the urine test and try and make a follow up appointment for a weeks time and we'll have the results by then." The doctor did a couple other tests before letting them go. Johnny and Tabitha were heading into the office. Darry found Violet a seat and waited for them. Tabitha came out grinning holding Johnny's hand tightly twenty minutes later.

They paid for the appointments and left, getting into the car.

"So?" Violet asked grinning and Tabitha couldn't hold her silence any longer,

"They're girls!"


End file.
